There was considerable peace and “silence” during the 2015 Nigerian general elections yesterday. It was good news that apart from the “I am above the law” behaviour of some senior politicians there might have been no incidences of chaos or violence at all. The inefficiencies of (Independent National Electoral Commission) INEC would have usually caused…
Month: March 2015
A Clueless Precedent By Nnimmo Bassey
When friends meet after a long while the questions that roll off after the handshakes, and maybe hugs, are often the standard “how have you been?” The pleasantries could continue for a while before you get down to the business of why you were where you were. If you happen to meet a Nigerian in…
The Power of Incumbency in Election and Big Thieving
One would wonder why the power of incumbency of presidents and governors in Nigeria,elsewhere in Africa and other places in the world is well-near indomitable at general elections. While incumbents can use state resources to campaign against the opposition, to buy votes wholesale and rig elections with impunity such resources are not always enough to…
Nigeria: Globalisation Democracy and the Possibility of a Coup d’etat
The United State of America is the chief exporter of “globalisation democracy” that has seen nations around the globe both encouraged and bullied into taking on two incompatible dictates of governance policy; representative democracy and neoliberalism.
Buhari Will Be Dead in Six Months’ Time
Muhammadu Buhari, a presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2015 General Elections, is reported to be terminally ill with cancer and complications of organ failure. The details of his medical condition/records are available from the private hospital in London, where he has been receiving intensive treatment for a while now. The man has only six months…
The Game of Kneel Down Democracy
In the above photo we can see kneeling before the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Mrs Ekaette Akpabio, the usually imposing State Commissioner for Works, Don Etim in her husband’s executive cabinet, while conversing at a public event. While many Nigerians predictably may see this image as innocuous and just “one of those things”…
Did the First Lady Reveal A Violence in Democracy?
“Anywhere you hear someone talking about change, stone that person” (three times in succession) – Patience Jonathan; Nigeria’s First Lady in her 2015 Election Campaign The word “stone” is a very ominous one that conjures up exclusively many meanings and images of violence and immorality. The emphasised passion with which the First Lady uttered the…
Postponement of Elections and Chinua Achebe’s Spirit
Chinua Achebe was ostracised by the Western academy for his truthful but hard to swallow comments on two European intellectual sacred cows, Joseph Conrad and Albert Schweitzer in which he branded them as racists using the pretext of artistic expression. It is reputedly proposed by many around the world that his comments cost him the…